Lombard man faces up to five years in prison for solicitation to commit a crime of violence

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A Lombard man tried to arrange a murder to avoid having to pay an $8.2 million settlement to the intended victim, officials say.

Daniel Dvorkin, 74, was arrested Thursday and charged with one felony count of solicitation to commit a crime of violence, FBI Special Agent Robert D. Grant and Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Gary Shapiro announced Thursday.

Dvorkin was charged in a criminal complaint for the murder-for-hire attempt, which was filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Chicago and unsealed Thursday.

The complaint accuses Dvorkin of approaching a "cooperating witness" in April with a copy of the court order which directed Dvorkin and his company, Dan Development Limited of Oakbrook Terrace, to pay $8.2 million to another business. He also apparently gave the witness documents that identified the intended recipient of the money, and told him or her that Dvorkin wanted the recipient to "stop breathing," and that he would pay $100,000 for the murder, according to the complaint.

The intended victim was the co-owner of the corporate entity entitled to the $8.2 million from a lawsuit between the two businesses.

After taking the information from the April meeting to the FBI and the Oakbrook Terrace Police Department, the witness further assisted the investigation.

Dvorkin was formally charged Thursday afternoon in Chicago by the United States Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim, who ordered him held without bond at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

Dvorkin's charges could mean a possible sentence of up to five years in prison if he is convicted.